Strategic Space Cooperation Between Russia and China Raises Alarm

Purported Russian-Chinese plans to construct a nuclear power plant on the moon have raised concerns about Beijing's long-term willingness to strategically align with Moscow, despite the latter's disastrous war on Ukraine and deepening conflict with the West.

Yuri Borisov, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, said on Tuesday that the two powers are "seriously considering a project" to install a nuclear power station on the lunar surface that may one day support lunar settlements.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank wrote on Tuesday that the announcement, while "odd," could be a sign of deepening alignment between Moscow and Beijing.

The project, Borisov said, may take place "somewhere at the turn of 2033-2035" and would see Russia "deliver and install a power unit on the lunar surface together with our Chinese colleagues."

"This is a very serious challenge," Borisov added. "It should be done in automatic mode, without the presence of humans." The Roscosmos chief said Moscow was also looking into nuclear-powered delivery vehicles.

"We are indeed working on a space tugboat," he said. "This huge, cyclopean structure that would be able, thanks to a nuclear reactor and a high-power turbines...to transport large cargoes from one orbit to another, collect space debris and engage in many other applications."

The ISW wrote that Borisov's remarks were "indicative of warming relations and Chinese willingness to foster a long-term strategic partnership with Russia to posture against and possibly threaten the West."

Newsweek has contacted the State Department by email to request comment.

During the 2024 Space Summit on Tuesday, U.S. Space Command head General Stephen Whiting warned that Russia still poses a "formidable" challenge in space, warning the U.S. against a "false sense of confidence."

Moscow and Beijing have long been collaborating on space projects, though none as ambitious as that touted by Borisov this week.

In November 2023, the Kremlin concluded a space cooperation deal with China to run through 2027 under which the two nations would embark on a three-stage plan to develop and build the International Scientific Lunar Station and jointly explore the surface of the moon.

This agreement came around a year after Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration signed a deal regarding the joint placement of Russian GLONASS and Chinese BeiDou satellite navigation system stations in six Russian and Chinese cities.

The ISW noted that cooperation on satellites could be especially concerning for Western powers given Moscow's reported development of "a space-based anti-satellite weapon," one perhaps armed with nuclear warheads.

"A strategic space partnership with China suggests that Russia would be unlikely to use this or similar technology against China and that both states would mutually benefit from Russia's posturing against the West through space and satellite technology," the think tank wrote.